Eye testing device



Allg 23, 1932- R. L. sTlMsoN ET AL 1,873,356

EYE TESTING DEVICE Filed oct, 17, 1929 '8 zw l '9g- A lo Kassel? Z1, 5f:msm t Ig 2517212231 H. azzlelle.

Patented Aug. 23, 1932 y ma: 1

,UNITED STfMF-Se'l RUSSELLY 1.. sTrMsONQoFsAN n,RAiTIsco;` cAinrronNrA,ANDHwrLLIAiyr-n. nonTnLrLE,"

on STURBRIDGE, MAssAcnUsETTs, AssIeNons To AMERICAN orTjicAnfCOMANY onsoUTnBRIDGE, T/rAssAcHUsETTs,v A vomilvaifimr ASSOCIATIONQrivrAssAcHiI-y snTTs i y.

EYEVTESTING nnvrcn l n Appncatiniiiea otober 17; 192,9.: sriaifNo.;400,381.

This invention relates to improvements in 1 eye testing devices and hasparticularfreference to improved means of determiningthe a-cc'ommodativerequirementsof the eye.

The principal object of the invention is to provide improved means oftesting errors in refraction.

'and easily manipulated. Y Another object oftheinvention is'to'provideimproved means of Vsupporting the re fractive error testing means.

Another object of the invention is to,

I'blplify the test and increase the. accuracy. and speed of refraction.

Another object is-to provide an improved holder forv the crossedcylinder lens used in refractive tests. f

201..' Other objects 'and advantages ofthe in;-f vention will beapparent from the following.-z description taken inconnection With the.accompanying dravving, andit Will be ap-jf parent that many changes may`be made in Zthe details of construction and arrangement panying claims.

been shown by -Way of illustration. y Referring to the drawing: I

Fig. I 'is 'a fragmentary diagrammatic.l

sectional view showing-the lenses oflan, eye

With the deviceembodying the invention., Fig. II is a front elevation ofthe lcross cylinder cell. -1 Y FigVIII is a plan vieWof Fig. II.

Fig. IV is an enlarged sectional vieW taken on line IV-IV of Fig. II.

Fig. V is a diagrammatic view illustrateA Y y l til the tvvo sets 'oflines are equally distinct. y

Such lens -powerheindicates thekdeiiciency of the accommodation. v w

ing the use of the cross cylinder lens.

Fig.` VI is a fragmentary sectional view Yon line VI-VI of Fig. III. f.

. i .Y properfoomfortrtothepatient..` Another objectof the invention istoprovide testing means whichA may be quickly Thetestin which thepresent invention is i involved -ris Ycalled the cross cylinderk testand j isu'sed'as.V a final .checkyonthefindings in the refractiveexamination'lof the 'eye-or to determinevvhether or not the errorslfound are 'of kthe required prescriptivevalueto giveV The lens;,usediin 4making this test' consists as its name im-plies,- of `a crosscylinder havr 'f ing a plusfcylindrical powerin one meridian,

and minus cylindrical power inthe op` posite meridian, or itsspherocylinder equivalentywith the aXis vplaceil ata-ny4 desired.

position. Thejtest card'employed` in` con-f-I nection :Withthe use ofthis lensconsists'of vertical lines VVVand vthree'for four lhorizontallines. f

The effect of placing such alensfbefore an.;`

emmetropic eye'forone made so by the use: of proper distance-.lenscorrection Whenvievv- .ing the test-card,4 say atapproximately 13vlinchesissupposed to 'bean' equalityof the two opposingsets of lines,and isaccounted fory by the fact that the minuscylinder calls for lextraaccommodatiom.forythe horizontal lines, andthe plus cylinder, relievesthe acthecross'cylinderflens, the lenses in theprei scrptive findings:are eitherftoo Weak or too strong.: ;In other Words',` We have onesetof y l, rays Which-Would'come toa'focus behindthe a `testing instrumentyas yused in combination'H retina as shown :at lV-in Fig. V5 and one setwhich would f'cusfinffront of` the retina as` at Br in Fi .@V hence inviewin lines NoW,` if the horizontal j lines' appear.A Vbe -tWo sets oflines, preferably three or -fo'11r the blackest (most distinct) totheobseryer, We--merely add plus spjhericalglens power Vun- If, however,the vertical lines are the most distinctwe have a case requiring a minusspherel added to the correction, in order to equalize the lines. Thisrepresents the Y amount of excess refraction present.

In thismanner the approximation arrived at by the shadow test,ophthalmometer, trial lenses, stenopaic slit, astigmatic chart, etc.,may be-checked by placing the approximate correction orl ndingsfbeforethe eyesand then using the crosscylinder test as stated above.

Inni'aking I whether"- or'not the patient really se'esjone wastherefore4 quite impractical. 'f

set vof lines plainer or b'lacker than the other,"

the lens is rota-ted to cause the opposite axis to occup-y the samedirection as the other axis: or to reverse the positions of the twoaxes. The person under examinationiszasked tostate which of the two..directions gives the betterr vision ofA either Tsets "of :lines orfifthere is `any change.A vThe correction before theperso'nsstatement. l

Incases of astigmatism lens Vmust be revolvable to permit one of itsaxes to be aligned with orplaced parallel with the axis of' the(cylinder' in vthe correc- -tion'anfd also to permit the lens to beturned soiasfto cause the other (oppositel axis of the cross cylinder tooccupy the same directionjasthe. first- 'orto reverse thelposition ofthetwoaxes. AThe 'patient'i's/,then asked what `changes take place andthevcorrection is changed according to the patients .statements .Thefchanging of positions ofthe axesof the cross cylinder lens before theeye mustr be *done very rapidly so that the eye `does ALnot have achance to relax during the inter'- changin'g Should aV relaxation occurthere would? belinaccura'cies in the' test.

vIn the past this rapid interchanging vwas very difficultandpractic'allyrv impossible due lto the lens having to be removed fromthe trial lens cell, thencevrevers'ed-and then replaced 'in *theIYcell;k This took considerable time and vcaused `many inaccurate tests.The cross cylinder lens itself was a` small separate.. devicewhichwas'c'onstantly misplaced, lostor dropped and brokenl during its use andf The present? invention obviates these vari? yons difficulties andlinconveniences by mountT vving Ythe-"cross cylinder lens on.theinstrument incombination with'which it is to be Vused so thatitcannot beinisplacedfor lost,`v and'-y also yprovides meansvvh'ereliiy'y the lens may'V be quickly manipulated: to change the axes`l without'fallowing thejeye to relax during the changeQ v y `v u l.

Referr'in-"g''more` particularly to the drawf ing wherein likecharacters ofy reference de- ,.,note corresponding parts throughout thein-v vention comprises `placing the cross cylinder test fandt 'todetermine the Y6" iS `r1316,11.'Changed in accordance\with.

the cross cylinder lens 1 in a holder 2 which'is pivoted at?)v to permitits beingV revolved as shown by the dot and dash lines inrFig. III.

rlhe pivots 3 `are 'secured to a beveled edged ring 4 which isrotatably'rnounted in the beveled. groove 5 in the main support 6.

;'This allows'the cross cylinder lens to be rotated as well as revolvedin either direc- .,tion tointerchangefor vary the axes ofthe lens Y'whendesired.

i VOne of the pivot pins 19 of thepivots 3 is provided with ,anrextension 7 lon which a j handle member 8 is slidably mounted to pro-videfmeans for manipulating thelensl.

The handle 8 isl provided at one end with a beveled tongue 9 which isadapted to extend into a groove 10 formed in one-ofthe YThe handle'S isprovided with al groo'veill` in which apin 15 carried by the extension 7vextends to hold the various parts in accurate workingy relation yandalso to'limit the sliding movement'of the handle 8 on said extension.Suitable graduations 16 are formedon the support 6 to indicate at whichangle the axis of the cylinder is positioned when the lensrlV is rotatedin its holder.

`This type of cross cylinder is designed for -use' in combination withan eye testing instrument known as the Phoroptor or similar y eyetesting 'deviceya' portion of the lens cells of which are shown incrosssection in Fig. I.

" The support 6 is provided with a pivot connection 17 by means of whichit is pivotally connected to the instrument as shown in Fig.

I.' The cross cylinder cell is adapted to be moved into vand outofalignment with the eyeunderk test by swinging the support 6 on the pivot17 vto movethe lens 1 into andout of 'alignment with the sight openingV25 Y formedlin the yeye piece 26 carried by the frame 27. 1 Y

Referring tol Fig. I, the operation of the device and test as made inthe present in vention comprises rotating'the lens cells -2O of the eyetesting instrument until. the proper The cross cylinder lens is thenswung into understood that the properchart 23 is previously positionedbefore the eye as shown.

The patient is' then put throughA the test as previously described.Should he need a plus or minus correction the lens cell 20 having theproper lenses v21/is rotated to align the powerlens desired with the eyeunder test.` A careful record of thef changes are Y made during thetest.'V

correction lensesV 21 -are before the eye 22.

' alignment'with the eye under test; it beingV To revolve the lcrosscylinder lens cell. as shown in Fig. IILthe'handleS is pulled.'

outwardly against the action ofthe spring l1 until thebeveled tongueSlisV free of the groove l0, whereupon'the handle 8 is given a Ahalfturn and simultaneously slightlyvref leased to allow the beveled tongue9 to re:

seat itself in the groove 10 throughthe ac,

tion of the spring 11. This holds thelens 1` in definite workingposition. .The revolving of the cell is done very quickly and does notallow the eye to relax during the turning as has often occurred in theprior art tests.

The cylinder cell may also be rotated to :position the axes of the crosscylinder at any `minus axis to be aligned with the cylinder axis in thecorrection lenses before the eyes of the 'subj ect and is revolvablewhen in aligned position with the correction lenses to reverse theposition occupied by the plus and minus axes of the cross cylinderlens,'that is, to cause the minus axis to occupy the previous positionof the plus axis and vice versa, or to cause the cylinder axis in onemeridian to move to another meridian ninety degrees "therefrom, thepurpose being to confirm the findings with the regular test lenses. Ifthe subject does not notice any change in the appearance of the lines inthe dierent meridians of the test chart 23 when viewed through the crosscylinder lens and when the lens is revolved to change the position ofits axes the correction of the regular test lenses is assumed to beaccurate. Should the subject report that one set of lines in onemeridian appears darker or more distinct than the other set in theopposite meridian a plus or minus additionto the cylinder correctionshouldbe included, depending entirely upon the find-V ings when the plusand minus axes of the cross cylinder lens are reversed.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that we have provided newand improved means for supporting a cross cylin-` der lens wherein testsof refractive errors may be made with greater speed and accuracy.

Having described our invention we claim:

l. A device of the character described, the combination. of a supporthaving a ring rotatably mounted thereon, a second ring pivoted to thefirst ring androtatable at least 180 degrees in a directionsubstantially aty right angles to the rotation of the first ring, a lensin the second ring and a handle on said secr ond ring by means of, whichthe lens may be rotated ingeither directiomthe pivotal axis of said asecond.. ring passing *substantially through the `optical (center of thelens.

.211 In av device ofthe character described-.af-

supportfhavingl'a ring member rotatably mounted thereon, alenscellpivotedto the ring memberandrotatable in af direction substantially `atright langles. to thesrotaryV move-f mentofthe ring. member' and means-vbetween said lring member and lens cell for lockmglthe 75. cellr againstrotary movement in :one direcr f "Jlfll". l 1; EV" I support havingL a.4ring'.a-nemberyV rotatably mounted thereon; lensI cell pivotedl to thevringmemb'er adapted to'rotate in a direction substantially atright-anglesfto'l the `rotary movement of the vring member, means (onthe len'spfcell bymeans of which the said'cell is` rotated in eitherdirection and meansfoperatf4 ed bysaid last named means forlockingthelens cell against movement 1in one .direction 4. In a device of thecharacter described, a

Support-having" a ring' member-rotatably mounted. thereon, a lenscellpivoted tothe ring member adapted to rotate in a direction substantiallynormalto the rotarymovement ofthe ring -member,a' handle'onthe cell by imeansof which the'said cell is vrotated :in either direction and lock`means l controllable by movement of said handle for' locking the lenscell against movement :in one direction.

1 --51 In a device of the character described1,.a

support having Aa ring meniber. rotatably. mounted thereon, acellvhaving al crossed cyl#` inder lens therein .pivoted to the ringmemberend-rotatable in af direction opposite the rotary movement ofthering member,a=han dleslidably.connected 'to the crossedgcylinder cell,lockman'slbetween the handle and ring member and means in said handleforcontrolling the sliding movementthereof to operate the lock mean Y ,l i

.653 In a device of theucharacter described incombination with a memberhaving a sight opening, asupport, a lensvhfolder pivoted to the `supportadapted to be moved into 'and' out ofxalignment with the sightopeningand a lens'in the lens holder rotatable in a plane normal totheaxisfof the lens and for 180 degrees at least in the plane of theaxis ofthe lens about-anaxispassing substantially through its optical center; p

7. In a devicefor testingfthe eyes having a member with a sight openingtherein, a support having a ringmember rotatably mounted thereon, a lenscell .pivoted to theiring member and rotatable in ai directionsubstantially at right'angles tothe rotary movement ofthe ring member,means between said ring member and lens.: cell lfor locking the cellagainst rotary movement in one direction and means .by which the supportmay be moved i so that the lens may be brought into'and out l oflalignmentwith thesightopening.

.by said last named means orf locking the lens cell'against movement inone direction *f and means by which the support may be moved so thatthe/lens may-be brought vinto or outrof alignment with the sightopening.

, 9. In a device for testing the eyes havinga member With a sightopening therein, a. sup- Y port having a ring member rotatably mountedthereon, a lens cell piv'oted to the ring member adapted torotate in a`direction substantially normal tothe rotary movement of the ring member,a handle on the cell by ineansowhich Vthesaid Vcell is rotated ineitherdirection, lock means controllable by movement of the saidhandle forlocking the i ,lens kcell against movement in one direction and' meansbyv WhichY the support may be moved so that the lens may be brought intoand out of alignment With the sight opening.

10. 'In a device for testing the eyes having a member With a sightopening therein, a sup-y port' having'a ring member rotatably mountedthereon, a cell having across cylinder lens therein'pivoted to the ringmember and rotatable in a direction opposite the rotary movement ofthering member, a handle a support, a cross' cylinderl'ens rotatablymounted on the support, meansron the sup-vvv port by which the crosscylinder lens may be rotated 'in its Lown plane, andvother means f alsoon the support by whichV the cross cylinder'lensmay be turnedcompletelyover in a direction normal tothe planev of the lens and about an aXissubstantially intersecting the optical axis of the lens.

RUSSELL L. STIMSON. yWILLIAM Hp. BOUTELLE.

'reoY Y sl-idably connected to the cross cylinder cell,

lock means between the handle and: ring member, means in said handle forcontrolling thesliding movement thereof to operate the lock vmeansandmeans by Whichfthe support may be moved so that the lens may bebrought into'and out of alignment With the sighty opening. Y ll. In adevice for testing eyes having a member With a sight opening therein, asupport, a lens rotatably mounted on the support, means on said supportby Which the lens may be rotated in its oWnV plane, means also on v saidsupport by which the lens may be turned completely over in a directionnormal to its own plane and about an aXis passing substantially throughits center, and means by which the support may be moved so that thelens'may be'brought into or out of alignment with the sight opening.

12. In a'device of the character described, av support, a lens`rotatably mounted'on the support, means on the support by which thelens :may be rotated Ain its ovvn plane, and

.other means also on thesupport by which the lens may beturned'completely over in a direction normal to its ovvn plane and aboutan axis passing substantially through its/center. Y v

13. In a device ofthe characterdescribed,

